It’s that time of the year when many people make New Year’s resolutions that we know probably won’t stick beyond a couple of weeks; however, we go through the same motions each year. For some people, this can lead to unhappy thoughts and unhealthy behaviours as promises to improve are broken and we resort back to our “normal” activities. For some people, these thoughts can become overwhelming and cause severe anxiety and other problematic health issues. In the end, making New Year’s resolutions that we know are going to be broken can lead to disappointment leaving a person feeling unhappy and even depressed which can deteriorate a person’s state of mental health.

Supervisors need full support of manangement, proper training to manage absenteeism

It’s five to nine in the morning when the phone rings. Before the supervisor answers it, they instinctively look around and take a head count. Who’s calling in sick today?

Whether they want to or not, the responsibility for monitoring employee absences falls to immediate supervisors, who are often the only ones aware when an individual is away from work. They have a good understanding of their staff members’ work habits and are often empathetic to any extenuating circumstances surrounding an individual’s absence. This also puts them in a position to identify patterns of absence and flag potential abuses of the system.

In a recent workplace survey, 56 per cent of Canadian employers identified mental-health claims as their top health and productivity-related issue, yet only 32 per cent said they are likely to implement programs to address the issue. A mere five per cent indicated they planned to tackle the stigma associated with anxiety and depression in the workplace.